Mara would finance the trainee pilots identified by MAS to undergo training at the APFT academy, he told the Dewan Rakyat when replying to Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) who had asked him to state the government's policy on the employment of young pilots, particularly by MAS.

"Pilots in MAS make up 7.2 per cent of the total number of the airline's employees. Seventy per cent of the pilots are young (aged below 40 years)," he said.

Ong said the country's airlines recruited pilots in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regulations and the Civil Aviation Regulations 1996.

He said the people should not doubt the capability of the young pilots, and they should accept the exodus of MAS pilots to other airlines for more lucrative income as a market phenomenon.